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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27051622">The Wolf and His Mate</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/chiqelata/pseuds/chiqelata'>chiqelata</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>The Wolf and His Rabbit [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>The Witcher (TV), Wiedźmin | The Witcher - All Media Types, Wiedźmin | The Witcher Series - Andrzej Sapkowski</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Shapeshifters, Angry Lambert (The Witcher), Feral Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia, Hurt/Comfort, Injury, Injury Recovery, Jaskier is a bunny, Jaskier | Dandelion Whump, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Pack Bonding, Possessive Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia, Protective Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia, Shapeshifting, Soft Eskel (The Witcher), Wolf Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia, Wolf Pack, and he has floppy ears, but he's soft inside, geralt acting like a caveman, geralt is angry towards anyone but his mate, lambert acting like a dick, not a lark</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-11-10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 20:08:36</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>5,884</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27051622</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/chiqelata/pseuds/chiqelata</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Geralt still felt more animal than human and out of control since he re-transforms into his human form. When he leaves with Eskel to clear his animalish thoughts for a few minutes, Lambert takes advantage of his absence and threatens Jaskier to leave their small pack. Frightened by the witcher’s harsh words, Jaskier is seriously injured by another predator while fleeing into the woods.</p><p>Lambert had no idea about what he had done. Getting between the wolf and his mate was the biggest crime that could have been committed, he knew that but he did it anyway. The rabbit was an outsider and the last time they accepted an outsider, it was their biggest fault. He cannot let that happen again. </p><p>But a moment of anger was going to make things a lot worse than he predicted.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia/Jaskier | Dandelion</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>The Wolf and His Rabbit [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1974337</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>117</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>612</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Hello again, everyone! The story continues where it left off. If there are new people here, I recommend you to reading the first part, because this story continues immediately from where the first part ends. It will again be a short, not too long story (probably between 10k-15k words.) I hope you like it!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Jaskier heard a deep male voice that sounded like it was coming from far away. His voice was thick and thundering, with a warmth reminiscent of the burning fireplace in the cold winter months. Jaskier couldn't understand exactly what he was saying, his voice sounds muffled and incomprehensible, as if coming from under the water. But after a while, when his consciousness began to clear up a little more, the words also began to make sense.</p><p>"Actually, you look cute, but your floppy ears still look fucking stupid.''</p><p>Whoever spoke was a stranger to him, he did not know the owner of this voice. His breath hitched with fear.The last thing he remembered was that he and Geralt had a blazingly hot sex. The witcher caused him to have so many orgasms that Jaskier could not prevent his consciousness from shutting down and allowed him to sleep peacefully and without interruption, after the stress he experienced from being held captive for weeks.</p><p>But right now, as he was stripped of the sweet arms of sleep, he began to feel the fear he was familiar with again.</p><p>"I know you're awake, little rabbit, open your eyes.''</p><p>Against his predatory growl, Jaskier trembled and opened his eyes. A little further away from him was a large man who was sitting cross-legged. As soon as he saw his yellow eyes, he knew he was a witcher, just like Geralt. But looking other than his eyes, his scarred face, his body standing more muscular than even the most well trained soldier, and his two swords standing against the tree behind him were sufficient evidence for him to come to this conclusion.</p><p>The witcher grinned slightly when he noticed his trembling body, but it wasn't such a heartwarming, friendly smile. He carried a cruel expression, like he wanted him to be afraid of him. Jaskier’s breath hitched again, and the questions began to swirl in his mind. Who was this man? More importantly where was Geralt? What happened while he was sleeping? How was he brought here?</p><p>"I don't know how you affected my brother, but the same fucking shit won't work for me. Did you get it? I don't want to see a stupid ass looking rabbit being accepted into the pack and bouncing around the keep.''</p><p>Jaskier started to tremble more. <em>The keep?</em> What was this frightening witcher talking about? And he said <em>brother</em>... Geralt.. Geralt and this man were brothers? Jaskier sniffed the air to be sure. The witcher definitely smelled like horse, sweat and death itself. The scent was so heavy and disgusting for his sensitive nose and if he could gag he would. It was clear that this man had been on horse for weeks and far away from the water for a very, very long time. Jaskier kept himself from flinching the scent. Then gathering his courage, he sniffed the air again and caught the hidden, rather faint but familiar smell that came to his nose with the cold wind.</p><p>Ashy by the newly extinguished fire, the rich scent of earth and the smell of danger that promised adventure and death, covered the man like a second skin. He smelled just like Geralt. Although his gaze seemed more mocking and wry compared to the white-haired witcher, it was undeniable that there was a bond between them.</p><p>Jaskier found himself trembling more when this knowledge was supposed to comfort him. Although he wanted to believe that this man would not harm him because they were brothers, this possibility began to seem quite alien to him when he saw the dagger that the man was sharpening.</p><p>"Geralt has not yet been able to regain his logic because he acts and thinks like an animal. But as soon as he comes to his senses, I don't think he'll want to see you around. So I'm gonna do both of you a favor, little rabbit. I'm gonna give you five seconds to get out of here while he's gone.''</p><p>Jaskier didn't move. Go? But where? With unsteady eyes, he stared at the woods, which stood behind the brunette witcher. Isn't that what he's wanted for weeks? To be free, to lie under the sun again, enjoy the cool evening and strum his lute... He turned his head in the opposite direction and looked at the path as if he could see Geralt. Although it feels incredibly good to know that he has been freed from his terrible cell, he did not like the idea of leaving <strike>his wolf</strike> <em>the witcher</em> behind, even though they met in a very short period of time.</p><p>He loved adventure, the excitement it brought, the adrenaline that quickening his pulse. And when he looked at Geralt, he saw much more in him than a simple adventure. Jaskier had seen his scars he had on his muscular body, the sharp gaze of his golden gaze, and the calluses that made his fingers hard but also scratches his skin beautifully.</p><p>Despite these, Geralt did not hurt him when he touched him, he was careful about his strength. Jaskier didn’t even want to know what <strike>his wolf</strike> <em>the witcher</em> could do to him if he released some of his strength on him.</p><p>What Jaskier wouldn't give to spend a little more time with him. Geralt promised him much more than ordinary adventures, there was something about him that fluttered his heart. It felt like his heart was tied to the strings just like an instrument, and every time the witcher touched him, the strings strummed, and his soul began to sing.</p><p>Geralt was <em>his muse.</em></p><p>Maybe it was ridiculous that he tried to make so much sense because of the one amazing marathon sex they had, but Jaskier rarely had such intense feelings for someone he had just met for the first time. There have been many people or things that have quickened his heart, but until now, when he looked at the witcher he felt the need to compose songs. Considering that he was a bard who had just been thrown into life, this was a great discovery for him.</p><p>Like everyone else at the academy he sought his muse, interested in all type of people, nature, sounds, taste, in short, everything that filled his perceptions, and desperately wished for his hungry side to awake. He wanted fame, attention, and most importantly to be the poet of songs that will not be forgotten. To be remembered forever.But whatever he did, whatever he was after, his efforts were in vain.</p><p>Until two Nilfgaardian soldiers kidnapped him and threw him into the wolf's den as a bait...</p><p>"What are you fucking waiting for, rabbit? Do you really want me to threaten you to leave?" When the witcher threw the dagger in his hand inches away from him, Jaskier jumped on his spot in fear. "If you don't move, I'll throw the other one at your body." The witcher said with a dangerous hiss. Jaskier swallowed. There was no room for joke in the man's amber eyes, even a clear determination to show that he could do it. Jaskier, with his heart beating his rib cage, decided to do what made sense to save his life, ran into the forest without further angering the witcher.</p><p>Because fear outweighed all his emotions, he could not transform into his human form. Maybe if the witcher had tried to be a little more calm towards him instead of threatening him, Jaskier might have tried to communicate with him. Maybe even the witcher would decide it wasn't so bad to have him around, and he wouldn't mind him to stay with Geralt a little longer. Until the white haired man find his presence bothersome like everyone did after spending some time with him.</p><p>As he passed quickly through the trees, his thoughts slowly began to lose their importance. He was only twenty one years old, and even though he found his inspiration eight years later, he could have found someone other than Geralt. After all, he was a bard, and everything had to be an inspiration to him, didn't it? But as he looked back on his past years, he knew how much he had failed in this regard, and every time he hopped around the tree roots, it’s upsetting him to put a little more distance between him and the witcher. It felt like he was leaving behind a precious rare gem.</p><p>All he wanted was to get back to Geralt, despite all the threatening aura of the dark witcher. He wanted to get to know him, know more about him-<em>everything, for example</em> - and if the witcher wanted him again, Jaskier wanted to feel him inside again. He could easily write erotic songs inspired by the amazing sex they had, the bottom of his body was still a little sore, slowing down his run.</p><p>When he passed under a huge tree root, his back leg stuck and he fell face down on the dried ground. The pain spread all over his face and from there to his small body. Gasping for breath, he lay where he was for a few minutes, waiting his body, mind and soul to calm down. When his heart finally slowed down a little, he sneezed the dusts that filled his nose.</p><p>What would he do now? He didn't even know where he was, he was afraid that if he continued to move in this way, he would be drawn into it and lost completely, rather than out of the forest, his sense of direction was unfortunately quite poor. He continued to lie where he fell and sighed.He was hungry, feeling exhausted, and more importantly he was all alone now. He trembled slightly as the final part crossed his mind.</p><p>By putting his head on his front paws, he tried to avoid the feeling of loneliness that made him feel worse, and by trying to think about how he could get out of the forest, he tried not to cloud his mind with his miserable feelings.</p><p>Some time passed, when he had not yet calmed down, he heard a rustle coming from ahead. He raised his head and turned his attention to where the sound was coming from, tried to see what was approaching without even breathing. Could Geralt have come back for him? Even though Jaskier didn't want to get his hopes up, his heart which non-suprisingly betrayed him, had already begun to beat fast.</p><p>He called him his mate This should have some meaning for him, isn’t it? Could people call a person they never knew their mate because of passion? As a witcher, he guess there was no exception in this regard. Or was it the opposite?</p><p>He had been in wolf form for too long, and probably his way of thinking and needs should have started to form like a wolf. Still, it wouldn't hurt to hope. It was stupid, but Jaskier was already an idiot, there could be no other explanation for how he felt such a strong need to return to the side of a man he never knew.</p><p>But Jaskier's hope ended when he saw the lynx coming out of the bushes. His heart began to beat so fast that his small body began to tremble violently. His brain begged him to run, run as hard as he could, but because his body was petrified, he couldn’t move.</p><p>The lynx emerged from the bushes with exquisite lethality and when it reached near him, its light green eyes were turned directly to where he was stuck, and a growl rose from its body, which stood many times larger than him. His shaking turned into wiolent tremors. The lynx moved quickly, taking advantage of hiss inactivity. As it closed the distance between them in seconds, Jaskier did the last thing his kind could do and screamed.</p><p>Then, when the lynx's sharp canines teared his soft flesh, Jaskier felt a blazing pain. The teeth that piercing his body, the blood, the saliva that flows from the animal's mouth... He could feel it all and it was too much. He couldn't take this. He couldn’t. Everything he felt was pain. Gods, he was dying.</p><p>Thankfully, as his sight began to darken, the last thing Jaskier heard was a growl coming out of another predator which sounded far more aggressive than the lynx.</p><p>Then everything went dark.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Sorry for the delay folks, I haven't had a very good month and so the arrival of the chapter has been a bit prolonged. I hope you'll enjoy this chap, it's a little long. Oh and thank you so much for the kudos and comments, I didn't have hope for this series until now, so thank you again &lt;3</p><p>Also, I have two new tags:  geralt acting like a caveman and geralt is angry towards anyone but his mate, lol.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>He felt confused.</p><p>A day and a half had passed since he became human, but he still felt like a wolf. He felt wild like an untamed tornado, distressed and unfocused.</p><p>Because he was a witcher, his senses were sharper than a normal person, and because he could turn into a wolf, his already sharp senses were much more sensitive to everything around him. Although he normally learned to control it over time, now it's like he's back to square one. The sun was so bright that its rays gouged his eyes, even the smallest rustle coming out of the trees sounded loud enough for him to cover his ears, and the smells were so sharp that even just taking a small sniff made him nauseous. His mind was a total disaster.</p><p>He had a strong need to turn into a wolf again. Everything was much simpler when he was an animal, his thoughts focused only on one thing; survival.</p><p>Now he had trouble even walking on two legs. His limbs were a confusion for him and his balance was even worse than his walk. Geralt felt powerless, he couldn't fucking move or stand properly. To him, it was no different than when he was drugged in that shitty cell. He didn't know his body enough to protect himself, and a lot of thoughts were spinning in his head. He was wild and out of control.</p><p>His mind was always on his mate when he didn’t think about the uselessness of his body. His eyes never looked away from his small, furry form. The ferocious need to protect him was so great and intense that it made Geralt even more violent, making him dangerous to those around him. Even though his memories of his brothers began to color his memory a little more as time passed, Geralt could not relax.</p><p>As far as he understood from his memories that came back to him, he was aware that he could trust his brothers unconditionally and he knew that he could entrust his life to them without thinking. When he brought Ciri to the keep, he remembered how affectionate and protective they were all towards the little girl, especially the oldest wolf-Vesemir. They all took the little girl under their wing as if she were a member of the family from the beginning.</p><p>His thoughts now were the same as when he first found Ciri. A need to provide protection that felt dark and quite primitive had completely filled his soul. The last time he felt so protective of someone, he was trying to take Ciri away from Nilfgaard's clutches and to the safest place he knew, Kaer Morhen. He had never felt such a burning sense of protection against anyone until Ciri, although as the alpha of the pack he felt a general need for protection against everyone, but his feelings for his cub were completely different. He could tear apart any entity that dared to approach her without giving a shit, and now he felt the same predatory feelings towards Jaskier.</p><p>His mate was small, his body was a little bigger than his palm, and there was nothing protecting his round body. Maybe he could have used his little teeth to defend himself, but even if he used them, it was a mystery that he would have left a real damage behind.</p><p>He knew his thoughts weren't healthy. He felt like a bomb about to explode, like he was going to lose his mind as soon as his mate got out of his sight and it didn't make any sense, it was pretty scary.</p><p>Wolves could not choose their mates, only, <em>somehow</em>, they knew it when they saw them. As soon as Geralt smelled his scent, he felt something different but he couldn't understand what it was. Being in a dark cell for a long time and being tortured regularly wore him down, severing him from his humanity and forcing him to change into his most primitive state. But then when he saw his rabbit, everything was suddenly clear. Attacking him was a stupid idea, when his harmless body entered the cell, all Geralt wanted to do was to protect him and make sure he felt safe.</p><p>‘’Are you feeling better?" Eskel said in his serene voice, taking him out of his thoughts. Geralt answered him with a silent growl. He was much better, his thoughts were less wild than his time in the cell, although still not too ‘human’, but he was also nervous than usual as he stayed away from his mate. His muscles grew bigger in clothes his brothers lent him, stretching the shoulder parts almost tearing it. The veins in his neck were obvious, his posture was like that of a predator waiting to attack.</p><p>‘’Are you sure?’’</p><p>"I want to go back to my mate.’’ He said harshly. He knew Lambert wouldn't hurt him. Even though the young witcher sometimes acted like a bastard, he knew his limits. Lambert hated people, especially their children, but he was perhaps the one who showed the most interest in Ciri. Vesemir was a good caretaker, like a grandfather to Ciri and Lambert was more the protective brother to her. Beneath his scary image and biting words, Lambert had a soft heart which he didn't like to show usually. But as with all witchers the path changed him, he didn't smile, act relaxed or joke as much as he used to. Although in their home, behind the walls of Kaer Morhen Geralt could again see traces of the old Lambert. His brother had changed a lot, especially after the destruction caused by Aiden. No, correction, he was <em>devastated</em>.</p><p>"As good as it is to find your mate Geralt, it is not healthy that you are so dependent on him. When you go back to the path, it can cause you to die.’’</p><p>‘’I want him." Geralt snarled, repeating himself. He normally cared very much about what Eskel thought, he was the closest witcher to him, they went through everything together and they fought for survival together. But now, Eskel's words did not matter. Geralt wanted to see his rabbit. He wanted to breathe in his unique scent, caress his soft fur, hold him between his arms, making sure he was safe and sound. And it was such a strong need that with the passing minutes, it began to grow in him and making him aggressive again. Technically there was no danger, he knew that clearly but a little distance from his mate wiped out all the crumbs of logic that began to appear in his mind.</p><p>‘’Well," Eskel sighed and collected the pieces of branches they had gathered to light a fire. "Let's go then, but we'll talk about this later." Eskel appeared right next to him when Geralt, with a small relief, hurriedly stepped in front of him to return to the campsite. "Seriously Geralt, I don't have any problems with your mate, but we need to talk to you about this separation anxiety you're having.’’</p><p>‘’After.’’</p><p>He followed the path leading to the campsite without checking if Eskel had followed him. As he got closer, he could smell his rabbit’s scent more clearly which carried a beautiful, innocent naturalness but there was also a <em>strangeness</em> about his scent that bothered Geralt greatly. He frowned hard and inhaled deeply from the air surrounding him. It was fear that spoiled the floral scent. His rabbit was scared for some reason. But why? What could have happened to him when Lambert was accompying him?</p><p>His steps faltered and his heart began to quickly hit his rib cage in his concern for his rabbit and his anger to eliminate what had frightened him. Whatever it was that scared his rabbit, he could smell that it was still scaring him, and Geralt wasn't there to fix it. As he immediately stepped further, he remembered the moment when the Nilfgaardian soldiers threw his mate as a bait. He remembered the sound coming out of his teeth as his little body trembled with fear, the expression of pure terror in his big blue eyes, and the way he curled up like a ball to make himself look smaller than he was... It was a painful memory.</p><p>As he entered the camp directly through the trees with a wild growl, he looked for what he was supposed to attack, and when he did not meet any animals or people, he frowned even more. All he saw was Lambert, who sat on a small rock sharpening his daggers, and not giving him a look at his sudden arrival.<br/>
When Geralt noticed the actual detail a few seconds later he froze, unable to understand what he was facing with.</p><p>
  <em>His mate.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>His mate was gone.</em>
</p><p>‘‘Where?" Geralt said, spitting out the question. As the acidic smell in the air invaded his nose, his heart was pounding inside him so fast that he almost vomited his breakfast. <em>His mate.</em> He had to find his mate. He had to get to him. He had to calm him down and find what made him run away with fear and kill it. He would make him feel better again. He would make him safe.</p><p>‘’Who?" Lambert continued to take care of his daggers without looking at him in a relaxed manner, as if he did not know who he was talking about.</p><p>"Jaskier." Geralt took a step towards him, a rather harsh expression was starting to appear on his face. ‘’My mate. Jaskier. <em>Where?’’</em></p><p>His aggressive tone on the last word finally caught Lambert's attention, and he looked at him, raising his head from his stupid daggers, and said the stupidest words that could be said.</p><p>‘‘He left.’’</p><p>‘’No.’’</p><p>"I'm telling the truth, he woke up, and the first thing he did was run into the forest without even a simple thank you for saving him.’’</p><p><em>‘’No."</em> Geralt said a second time. "He wouldn’t do something like that.’’ He added, he didn’t know what else to say at the moment. He felt light headed but he also felt the anger. Anger was quick, its taking a hold of his body and scratching his head, whispering words to take this feeling out on something. Someone.</p><p>‘’Oh really?" Lambert offered a small smirk that angered him more than needed. "How well do you know him, Geralt? It was just a simple fuck for you. Don't let it dilute your mind.’’</p><p><em>‘’He's my mate!"</em> Geralt angrily exclaimed, grabbed Lambert's collars hard and easily lifted him to his feet, making eye contact with him so he could see the fire in his eyes.</p><p>"You're not in your right mind yet Geralt. You don't know what you’re saying.’’</p><p>‘’I smelled it. <em>I felt it</em>. I felt the connection between us.’’</p><p>"You were tortured for a long time. It's normal for it to mislead you-‘’</p><p>"Don't play games with me you fucking bastard! I know he's my mate! What did you do to him?’’</p><p>‘‘I didn't do anything!" Lambert said in the same loud voice. Although he tried to push him away by putting his hands on his wrists, it was futile. Geralt's grip was more harder than steel.</p><p>
  <em>‘’Then where is he?’’</em>
</p><p>‘’I told you I didn't know!’’</p><p><em>‘’Stop lying!’’</em> When Geralt slammed him hard into the tree behind them, a loud oof sound rose from Lambert. The tree shook like it had been an earthquake, and the sound of the Eskel could be heard behind them as a few weak pieces of branches fell to the ground.</p><p>"Geralt. Calm down, I'm sure Lambert has a logical explanation. Right Lambert?’’</p><p>‘’He's a fucking rabbit dammit! A fucking prey animal!" Lambert said, shouting. "He'll be in your way, Geralt. Look at you, this is not you. Can't you see how much he's already changed you? And damn it, you don't even know him! At this rate, he could even get you killed! We can't accept him in our pack-‘’</p><p>"Jaskier is not responsible for your fucking trauma!’’</p><p>"Geralt -" Although Eskel tried to intervene, Geralt silenced him with a fierce growl.</p><p><em>"Jaskier."</em> He said once again. As he pushed Lambert against the tree a little more, cracks began to form at the middle of the tree.<em> ‘‘Where?’’</em></p><p>"Geralt-‘’</p><p>
  <em>‘‘Where?’’</em>
</p><p>Lambert looked at him with both angry and resentful eyes, but under Geralt's fiery gaze, realizing that his words were useless, he pointed with his head to the area where the trees were more frequent.</p><p>‘‘He went that way.’’</p><p>Geralt eased his grip but landed a hard punch to his left cheek just before releasing Lambert. If he had more time, he would have done much more than a simple punch. He loved his brother,<em> Melitele’s sake he really loved him</em>, but right now, all he wanted to do was to hurt him. Lambert made a small grunt against the pain, and Eskel ran to his side, silently swearing under his nose.</p><p>"If you try anything like this again, I'll do worse than to break your fucking temple.’’</p><p>It was an oath. Lambert gave him an angry look, and in response he just spitted the blood which was already dripping from his mouth. After Geralt looked at him with a menacing gaze for the last time, he dived right into the trees to find his mate. It was getting dark, which meant more predators came out of their hiding spots and started walking around to hunt.</p><p>Geralt's body was tense, the last time he left him Jaskier was still in his rabbit form. Rabbits were timid and nervous creatures by nature. It was a familiar fact that when shapeshifters turned into their animal forms, they tended to behave like the animal they were. The thought that Jaskier was trying to find his way through a forest that he never knew, all alone and with a fearful look, was compressing Geralt's heart with pain.</p><p>As he passed quickly through the trees and bushes, he felt a familiar pressure in the middle of his neck. Every time he was about to turn into a wolf, it was a feeling he experienced in general. Under the stress that leaks out of him right now his body wants him to choose the easiest path, and the wolf side of him supports the idea. Geralt clenched his teeth, wanted to give up on his already thin control but Vesemir never trained him to take the easy way.</p><p>Geralt, trying to suppress the need to transform, caught the sweet scent in the air when he crossed another tree. <em>Wild flowers, soil and freshly cut grass</em>. Geralt heard a blood curling scream as his frozen mind finally reminded him how to run at superhuman speed, pushing his legs to run faster. The scream was high-pitched, as if it were coming out of a small child, and there was a lot of fear in their voice. After the scream, the scent in the air turned sour once again with the ugly smell of fear and Geralt stumbled with the sudden realization.</p><p>
  <em>Jaskier.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>It was Jaskier who screamed.</em>
</p><p>His heart began to beat his rib cage, and a rather primitive growl rose from his throat. By following the smell at lightning speed, when he reached a small opening, he would almost transform under the influence of what he felt. The need was too great and it was quite difficult to resist, especially when he managed to understand the horrible view he was facing.</p><p>A little further away from him stood a lynx, completely unaware of his arrival. As far as he can tell from the poor animal’s appearance, it had been hungry for a long time, each of its bones was so prominent that it could be counted easily, they almost tearing its skin. Geralt didn't normally kill animals, especially those who looked so hungry and helpless like this one.</p><p>But the lynx had his rabbit in its mouth.</p><p>A wild roar left his throat as he saw his tiny, harmless mate standing motionless among the predator's sharp teeth. He could smell the metalic scent of blood which was flowing freely from his rabbit’s body, and he could see the red drops dripping from the lynx's jaw to the ground very clearly.</p><p>Geralt didn't seemed to know how he was moving towards the lynx. He was acting with only one thought: <em>kill. It hurt his mate, kill it.</em> It was easy to listen to the dangerous voice ringing in his head. His anger was so great that it even made him forget about the need to turn into a wolf.</p><p>When the lynx noticed his presence, its long pointed ears lay back and without droping his mate, it unleashed an aggressive growl deep enough to compete with him. Geralt stepped forward, not caring about the animal’s threat and as soon as he made another step, the lynx dropped Jaskier and jumped on him, claws visible and sharp. Geralt easily avoided the animal's blow. The lynx seemed unstable because of the hunger, spending its much needed energy very quickly.</p><p>Another time and place, Geralt would leave the lynx alone with its prey, especially when it looked so hungry and miserable. But seeing the blood dripping from the animal's mouth and smelling it filled Geralt with a terrible desire to kill.</p><p>When the lynx was jumped again to attack him, Geralt moved swiftly, wrapping his arms around the animal's throat then collapsing to the ground with it, squeezing its throat with all his might. He easily broke the lynx’s neck before he let him dying of breathlessness, saving it from a much painful death, and threw the animal’s now lifeless body to the ground.</p><p>He then went to his mate side without a breath. His rabbit was just lying on the floor motionless. He was covered in his own blood, his normally bright brown soft fur was punctured, and the blood filled every hole which matted the gorgeous fur, painted him in a vivid red.</p><p>Geralt got down on his knees with a whimper. He raised his hands to touch his mate but they remained in the air, not knowing how to touch him without hurting him more. His mate’s body struggled to breathe, and every once in a while his heart stopped for a very long few seconds. It was so obvious that he was in pain, his small body was constantly seizing and shaking.</p><p>Geralt caressed his rabbit's head with another whimper. He didn't know what to do when he was dying right in front of his eyes, the sadness and despair he felt left him motionless. Worse, the need to transform into an animal was more dominant now. Because he didn't know how to deal with his emotions, he wanted to turn into a wolf again, resort to the easiest way he knew.</p><p>"Don't even think about it." When Eskel suddenly appeared next to him and fell to his knees like him, Geralt's body was filled with a desire to protect his mate but also beg his brother to help him. "If you turn into a wolf again, we could really lose you this time Geralt. I can't let that happen.''</p><p>Geralt growled or whimpered, he didn’t know, didn’t care at all about his shattered image. As his gaze turned from his brother to his mate writhing in pain, his fists tightened. What could he do? What did he have to do to save him? If he turns into a wolf-</p><p>"Geralt, stop it." Eskel put one hand on his shoulder, squeezing him hard to keep his attention. "We're going to save your mate, and if you want to help him, I need you to stay human. Both physically and mentally.''</p><p>After his soothing words, Eskel tried to touch his rabbit and Geralt snapped. Snarling, he grabbed his brother's wrists and take his hands away from his mate. Although the smell of blood became more and more intense, the need to turn into an animal was suppressed with Eskel's words.</p><p>"We can save him, but you have to let me touch him.''</p><p>Geralt growled and closed more on his mate.</p><p>"If you continue to behave like this, you will kill him Geralt. Let me help you.''</p><p>Geralt growled more in response. He knew that the logical thing was to let Eskel go and accept his help, but he didn’t want to risk his mate again. He was in critical condition, but on the other side he also knew he could trust his pack... But he couldn't do that. He just- he couldn’t. He couldn’t let his mate out of his hands again.<br/>
"Then wrap this up around him, but hurry up. We need to get him to a mage immediately, our skills may not save him.''</p><p>When Eskel pulled the bandage out of one of his small bags tied to his belt and handed it to him, Geralt quickly took the bandage from him, then tried for a moment to figure out what to do with it. What he grasped seemed very familiar to him but he didn’t know how to use it properly.</p><p>"Bandage his wounds Geralt." Eskel pointed to his mate's body and moved his hands and fingers as if he were wrapping something. "It'll slow down the blood flow a little bit.''</p><p>After Geralt squinted his eyes and watched his movements for a while, remembering what the bandages were for, he got up from above to see his rabbit more comfortably. Jaskier's heart rate was slow, blood had almost turned his entire fur red. Geralt pathetically swallowed his whimper and started to wrap the bandage to cover the small body. As much as he tried to be careful, Jaskier was in pain. His mate made a heart breaking squeak, body seizing once again. Geralt murmured things to soothe his pain and carefully moving his fingers around him like he was made of glass.</p><p><em>"Jaskier."</em> When he grabbed him under his belly with great care and lifted him slightly, Jaskier made another squeak. The sound broke Geralt's heart in half. <em>"Jaskier."</em> he said again, didn't know what else to say. Even though he wanted to say that everything would be fine, that he would return to his former healthy state, the words could not form on his lips. As he managed to wrap the bandages neatly, he rubbed his nose to Jaskier's wet little nose and closing his eyes, he again uttered his name.</p><p>
  <em>‘’Jaskier.’’</em>
</p><p>Despite the blood he lost, one of Jaskier's floppy ears twitched and his teeth clattered. Geralt's heart was stuck, placing his mate's trembling little body under his neck, one hand covering him while supporting the bottom with the other, he kissed the little furry head.</p><p>
  <em>"Jaskier.''</em>
</p><p>It was his mate’s name but it was also an oath.</p><p>He would save him.</p><p>
  <em>He would.</em>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I knew I wrote many times that Geralt felt the need turn into a wolf but you know my man really felt that lol. Sorry if I triggered anyone...<br/>And just imagine that Geralt hugging a small fluffy bunny... My heart.</p><p>Hope you liked this chapter, I'll be really happy if you guys share your thoughts with me. </p><p>Please stay safe&lt;3</p>
        </blockquote><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Fact: Screaming among rabbits indicates alarm associated with fear, pain, and psychological distress. A rabbit may scream because it is scared of being attacked or dying. Rabbits also scream when they're in excruciating pain, or when they're having a seizure. A rabbit may scream just before it dies as well. It sounds exactly like a small child's scream.</p><p>Also, English is not my first language and I don't have a beta so if I did any mistake about spelling, grammar, tense etc. please let me know so I can re-write it.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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